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Classes are designed to challenge your thinking and develop your professional skills. You’ll leave each class with a unique set of tools to approach new communications challenges.

Tailor your experience to your career goals by focusing on one of eight areas of specialization. Use the search widget below to sort classes by quarter, specialization, instructor and degree track for each quarter. Get a comprehensive view of the full academic year in our Course Guide.

View the University of Washington Academic Calendar for important dates, including quarter start and end dates, registration dates and deadlines, and campus holidays.

Registration numbers (SLNs) are located on the Time Schedule. Please read the Department’s statement on internet resource requirements for access to courses.

COMMLD 503A: Practicum: Creating Video Content with Real World Clients

(

Christensen

)

- 2022-2023 | Spring 2023

Track Neutral | 2 Credits
Tuesdays 3/28 – 5/30, 6:00PM – 7:50PM | CMU 302
Application Required – See Description

Course Description

The world of video production is a mysterious and ambiguous place consisting of freelancers, business owners, and in-house roles. In this course students will learn about how to best set up their team for success by adding structure to their client interactions, tapping into their team’s talents, and how to ensure that they’re delivering content that fits their client’s needs. Students will collaborate in teams throughout the quarter to create one short video for a real-world client.

Credit/No Credit Only

About 503 Communication and Leadership Practicum

Communication and Leadership Practicum courses give students an opportunity to engage with and understand the uses of course concepts in contemporary professional practice by addressing the challenges of real-life organizations.

Each section of the Comm Lead Practicum focuses on a distinct professional skill or practice that is deemed essential across a variety of professional fields. Students can choose their section based on their interests and needs. Each section is matched with a client organization or group of client organizations who are interested in partnering with Communication Leadership students.

In the span of a quarter, students analyze the issues faced by the client organization(s), collaborate and brainstorm collectively in small teams, and with the support of their faculty mentor create a deliverable for the client organization(s) that relates to the specific practice. Students may also create creative samples as part of the project. In doing so, students can develop and enhance skills, build foundations of practice, and produce work that they can include in their own professional portfolios.

*Students must prove their proficiency in video production to register for this course by meeting the minimum qualifications:

1. Proficient experience in editing video on the following platforms: Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and/or DaVinci Resolve.

2. Experience in shooting video with either DSLRs or Video Cinema Cameras.

Please fill this form to the best of your ability. It will be available on February 10, 2023 at 6:30AM PST. You may be reached out with further clarifications. If your form is approved, you will receive an add code to register for the course.

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COMMLD 502: Narratives and Networks

(

Yasin

)

- 2022-2023 | Spring 2023

Track Neutral | Core Requirement | 3 Credits
Thursdays 3/30 – 6/1, 6:00PM – 8:20PM | EXED 110
SLN: 12544

Course Description

This foundational class uses the lens of social impact to explore the professional practices that make up the Communication Leadership program. Students get to meet leaders from key organizations in our region and learn about their approaches to their practice, as well as the challenges they confront. Throughout the quarter students develop a communication or leadership project in one of the Comm Lead specialization areas, to address a critical issue of our time. The project they develop will go into their portfolio to exhibit their values, creativity, and commitment to positive change and solutions in our world. Credit/No-Credit only.

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COMMLD 550: Ethical Questions of Big Data

(

Lohmann

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Thursdays 1/5 – 3/9, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 230
Registration SLN: 22335

Course Description:

Big Data: Cure or Curse? This course will provide you with an overview of the benefits and challenges of the use of big data and encourage you to apply the Communication Leadership core declaration tenets for its ethical use. The class will provide a basic understanding of the use of big data in analytics, predicting crises, on social media, behavior tracking, and even in marketing. This course provides an overview on the new regulations and conversations around secure data, intellectual property, and the challenge of data privacy. It also examines the benefits of some uses of anonymous big data for research and health innovation and cures. By the end of the class, students will understand how big data contributes to tracking pandemics, creating health cures, predicting crises, behavior tracking and targeted messaging on social media and in marketing. They will know how to research, market, and innovate with big data in a way that honors the values of integrity, accountability and transparency, and builds community. They will also be able to reflect on how they can make an impact with big data in a way that demands and honors diversity, takes responsibility, is aware of bias and does not amplify inequity.

Meets Law & Ethics Requirement.

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COMMLD 535: Foundations of Audio Storytelling

(

Perry

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

Track Neutral | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 1/4 – 3/8, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 302
Registration SLN: 22243

Course Description:

Whether gathered around a radio in a living room or walking plugged in with headphones, the medium of audio storytelling has always offered the opportunity to build a mindset-shifting community around content. This course traces the evolution of audio storytelling from radio to podcasting that links to communities for various purposes: to educate, to entertain, and to inspire action — and the new golden age of podcasting that we find ourselves in means that audio storytelling has the potential for broad reach and powerful impact. Consideration is given to the core characteristics of strong storytelling, observed through an auditory filter. Class materials are twinned with a selection of cross-sector guest speakers who bring their own craft perspective. Students will experiment with designing their own short audio pieces.

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COMMLD 530C: Engaging Interviews

(

Dalch

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

Track Neutral | 2 Credits
Wednesdays 1/4 – 3/8, 6:00PM – 7:50PM | CMU 242
Registration SLN: 22223

Course Description:

Being a great interviewer takes a combination of preparation, presence, and curiosity––whether that interview is with a subject for a published piece or a fact-finding mission with a client. In this class you will learn how to prepare without over preparing, create rapport with your interview subject, and cultivate curiosity and presence while in an interview––so that you can get what you need while creating an engaging experience for both subject and listener/viewer.

The art of inquiry will be approached through a coaching lens in which the interviewer is both directive and actively listening/responding to allow for discovery. Students will also learn about different scenarios in which interviewing skills will be useful (eg, client consulting, podcasting, video, etc.) with guest speakers from various industries invited to add their unique perspectives.

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COMMLD 533: Storytelling for Emergent Platforms

(

Cioffi

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Saturdays 1/14, 1/28, 2/11, 2/25, 3/11, 9:00AM – 5:00PM | Startup Hall (2nd Floor in Condon Hall)
Registration SLN: 12783

Course Description:

Emerging models of interactive and immersive storytelling are disrupting the ways we can reach and engage with audiences. In this course  we will examine the unique ways that media and user generated content can tell one cohesive story across platforms in a distributed way; and how this is a pivotal a part of the current and future Web 3.0 ecosystem. We will focus our design thinking on audience engagement, UX, built worlds for virtual and interactive experiences, and the role of trust and truth in platforms – students will learn about best practice uses of VR/AR, branch narratives, game development and integration of traditional video in mobile UX.  We will be coupling a critical look at these emerging models while working through the technical aspects of story creation and the implementation of media production tools and platforms. This will be a project-based course through which students will acquire the strategy and skills to make informed design, development and use of immersive storytelling processes. Previous media production, web development or game design is not necessary, though a willingness to learn and play with the underlying technologies is a must.

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COMMLD 570: Stakeholder Mindset and Communication

(

Howard

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

Track Neutral | 3 Credits
Tuesdays 1/3 – 3/7, 6:00PM – 8:20PM | DEN 113
Registration SLN: 12792

Course Description:

In August 2019, the Business Roundtable, a group of 181 CEOs from the largest corporations in the world, created, signed, and distributed  a formal document, “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.” This communication stated that this group was committed to leading their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders — shareholders, communities, employees, suppliers, and customers. 

In this course, we’ll examine this diverse set of stakeholders and take a closer look at how they interact with corporate leaders and each other internally and externally. What role will marketing communication professionals have in making companies’ messaging more stakeholder focused and inclusive going forward? 

From Elon Musk’s Twitter fiasco to the unexpected and unclear work policies at Amazon, we’ll examine why companies which do not support stakeholder theory lose value. And why the ones that do gain it.

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COMMLD 540A/B: Professional Longform Writing & Platforms

(

Crofts

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

Track Neutral | Meets Professional Writing Requirement (3 or 5 credit) or Research Methods Requirement (5 credit) | 3 or 5 Credits | CMU 126
Sundays, 1/8, 1/22, 2/5, 9:00AM – 5:00PM | 3-credit Section 540A | Registration SLN: 12786
Sundays, 1/8, 1/22, 2/5, 2/19, 3/5, 9:00AM – 5:00PM | 5-credit Section 540B | Registration SLN: 12787

Please note: 540A is 3 credits, and 540B is 5 credits. These courses will run concurrently. Students registered for 540A (3 credits) will attend the first three dates, and students registered for 540B (5 credits) will attend all five dates.

Course Description:

Have you ever read an in-depth piece online that so moved you or shifted your thinking that you immediately sent it on to a friend or colleague? The “long-form” medium offers the writer ample space for synthesis, critique, and personal stories to capture the imagination, change the conversation, and inspire action. With a broad selection of writers, leaders, and cultural commentators as curricular guides, this course invites each student to hone their long-form professional writing skills (>1000 words) and deepen their understanding of the current professional communication long-form landscape. With scaffolded steps to refine their writing voice and scope, this course serves both students with writing experience, as well as those keen to develop this foundational skill. In addition, we will consider the evolution of platforms, from colonial-era pamphlets to today’s crowded community of digital newsletters, hosted by the likes of Substack, Mailchimp, or Ghost.

Meets Professional Writing Requirement. 5-credit class meets Research Methods requirement. Class cannot be used to meet both requirements.

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COMMLD 537: Storytelling for Social Impact

(

Kessler

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

Track Neutral | 5 Credits
Saturdays (In-Person) 1/7, (Online) 1/21, 2/4, 2/18, (In-Person) 3/4, 9:00AM – 5:00PM | CMU 126
Registration SLN: 12784

Course Description:

Thinking Story is a foundational class that focuses on the art and craft of nonfiction storytelling to communicate ideas and emotion, build relationships and community, promote change and inspire action. The class reflects the need in all sectors for superb storytelling. The class explores, investigates and discusses the elements of narrative — what makes a story a story – and looks at examples of nonfiction storytelling across media (text, sound, still image, moving image and multimedia combinations). This platform-agnostic, birds-eye view of story is about learning how to reframe/ reconceptualize “information” and “report” as story, how to locate the small story that illuminates the larger issue, and what it takes to produce such work. At its heart, the class is about learning how to conceptualize issues, topics, brands, and ideas as narratives. Students will learn to “think story,” to pinpoint, pitch and gather material for the production of original, compelling and persuasive content.

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COMMLD 531: Foundations of Video Storytelling

(

Christensen

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 1/3 – 3/7, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 302
Registration SLN: 12782

Course Description:

The landscape of web-distributed video can be broadly divided into two motifs: Entertainment and Information. From YouTube to Facebook, AR to VR, Twitch to Facebook Live, online video is a storytelling revolution.

Storytelling has been part of the human experience since the formation of language. Today, the technology that surrounds the “tell” of a story (the modes and channels of communication) directly shapes the immersive experience felt by the viewer.

This course focuses on the decisions we make when we tell our stories. This course is both theoretical and practical. Students will be afforded the skills to create and distribute video stories. Additionally, students will be expected to display critical thinking around point of view, audience targeting, ROI success criteria, methodology, and production standards. You are expected to exercise the craft of content creation while at the same time critically evaluating and deconstructing content you see in the marketplace.

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COMMLD 530B: Ethics of Storytelling

(

Graney-Saucke

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

Track Neutral | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 1/4 – 3/8, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 126
Registration SLN: 12781

Course Description:

Ethics plays a critical role in how we tell stories. What values are behind the story? Who is telling the story, and for whom? What is the intended outcome, and what could the potential impact be? What are the ethics around new media technology like deep fake as we continue to take stories at face value?

Ethics and subjective bias in storytelling can also be complex, and thus they require our attention and reflection in responsible and responsive creative communications. This course will address various storytelling mediums and scenarios where ethics in storytelling are actively at play. Students will engage in critical discourse and assignments to assess values that impact ethical decisions personally and professionally. Assigned media and reading material as well as student sourced case studies will be used in order to ensure diverse and current content. As a conclusion to the class, students will create a final video, audio, web or UX project that engages an ethical challenge.

Meets Law & Ethics requirement.

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COMMLD 530A: Storytelling with Data

(

Mcghee

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Thursdays 1/5 – 3/9, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 302
Registration SLN: 12780

Course Description:

This course teaches students to assemble visual evidence in service of a narrative story. It reflects the new reality that information graphics, maps, and data visualizations are no longer a supplement to text stories created by dedicated service desks, but are free-standing items produced by cross-disciplinary journalists with skills in data reporting and visual presentation.

This course leads students through the process of reporting, analyzing, and presenting a data-driven infographic feature story. Students will explore the gamut of influential and impactful visual stories: an explainer on Covid-19 transmission (the Washington Post’s most popular story of all time); articles exploring California wildfires and street protests in Hong Kong; and stories exploring larger historical and cultural themes like the rise of Confederate statues and such cultural questions as: why are women’s pants pockets so small and K-pop bands so big?

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COMMLD 522: The Future of Marketing

(

Salkowitz

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 1/3 – 3/7, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 126
Registration SLN: 12779

Course Description:

Rapid evolution of digital media and technology continues to disrupt the business of marketing, making it essential for professionals in the field to keep abreast of trends in a number of areas. This class focuses on the technologies shaping marketing, advertising, media, public relations and communications in the 2-4 year horizon and explores strategies of successful marketing organizations, both digital and traditional.

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COMMLD 521: Digital Media Marketing and Branding

(

Mottola

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 1/4 – 3/8, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | Online
Registration SLN: 12778

Course Description:

This course is designed for students that will be utilizing their MCDM education and experience in the marketing arenas in businesses and organizations (including non-profits) or in leadership functions where an understanding of marketing is an important skill. The focus on the course will be on how to best utilize digital media vehicles along with more traditional forms of communications and advertising (and other marketing or Research and Development functions). Because of the ever changing nature of the advertising world with the advances and acceptances of digital media platforms, we will showcase industry “heavy hitters” from local marketing and advertising agencies to discuss the trends and issues the industry faces, using real life situations to explore alternatives and solutions. We will also explore how new media can be used with traditional channels of distribution (clicks and bricks), as well as in the R & D functions by encouraging and mining information from current and potential customers. Students that have not had a basic marketing class will be assigned pre-course supplemental readings and we will do a quick review at our first session so that everyone has a common understanding of the subject before we move into the more cutting edge concepts.

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COMMLD 515: Advanced User Design: UX Studio

(

Levine

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 1/4 – 3/8, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 104
Registration SLN: 12777

Course Description:

In this class, students will work in small groups to design and prototype innovative user-centered solutions to real-world problems and develop an application. Students will develop their projects from a user experience (UX) design perspective and produce a strong piece for their portfolio.

The course emulates real-life aspects of UX design teams, including in-depth experience with user research, usability testing and iterating on the product with real-life users. By the end of the course, students will construct a map of a product’s full customer journey, develop personas with use cases, design a working prototype, and build a proposal with requirements for the concept.

Since this class takes foundational concepts to the next level, students who register must have either already taken one of our intro courses (511 or 512) or Psychology of UX (517). To apply to take this class based on completed or in progress prerequisites, or equivalent work experience, please complete the form here starting at Noon (12:00pm PDT) on Friday, November 4: https://forms.office.com/r/1fvMGGAVCG.

This intensive course structure includes lecture, small and large group activities, and extended studio time for hands-on work on the projects. Several guest speakers from the UX design field are planned throughout the quarter.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

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COMMLD 512: User Research and UX Strategies

(

Porter

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Thursdays 1/5 – 3/9, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 126
Registration SLN: 12776

Course Description:

This course focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of user interfaces from a usability perspective. The aim of the class is to study the concepts, methods, and techniques of usability engineering, with a focus on the artifacts where user experience is essential. Historically, usability has covered aspects of efficiency, learnability, and ease of use. Today, a large number of other measures for success rely on elements such as playability, engagement, entertainment, immersion, and aesthetics.

The above concepts will be detailed with the expectation that by the end of the quarter, students will recognize the aspects of each of the following deliverables within Interface Design and User Research. At the completion of this course, students will have portfolio-ready, end-to-end work examples. The work examples are designed for students to demonstrate they can: understand basic principles of user interface design, implementation, and evaluation, design and conduct usability studies, select an appropriate evaluation method and articulate its advantages and disadvantages, establish useful test objectives, and prepare reports and presenting results.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

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© Copyright 2025 Department of Communication. University of Washington

© Copyright 2025 Department of Communication. University of Washington